April 8, 2004

Committee drafts ‘principles’ for campus planning

Group seeks input, calls Northwestern’s campuses ‘the physical expression of our academic values and aspirations’

A set of “principles” drafted by a special committee on campus planning calls for North-western to take measures to maintain and aesthetically improve the physical environment of both campuses.

The document is being released in order to elicit feedback from the Northwestern community, said Charles Dowding, professor of civil and environmental engineering, who is chairing the Advisory Committee on University Space Planning.

The long-term principles, with commentary on the current context and issues, and an e-mail address for the committee are available on the Web at www.northwestern.edu/provost/committees/spaceplan/index.html. Additional information will be added in the coming weeks.

The principles recognize that open space and the lakefront of both campuses are environmental assets that should be preserved and enhanced in any future building plans.

“This is very much a draft document — no final recommendations are being made by the committee at this time,” Dowding said. “An important part of this process is to get input from the entire campus community, so we wanted to give people an opportunity to react to the work of the committee to date.”

The principles call Northwestern’s lakeshore campuses “the physical expression of our academic values and aspirations” and state that “the landscape and architecture of our campuses should achieve an aesthetic distinction worthy of our academic reputation.” To do that, the committee cited a number of objectives that include further preservation and renovation of older buildings on the Evanston campus and making new construction architecturally distinguished without compromising environmental principles.

As part of a principle regarding architectural styles, the committee noted the extensive restrictions placed by Evanston zoning regulations on University property on the west side of Sheridan Road. As a result, any buildings planned for that area should be of a style and character that respects the residential character of the nearby neighborhood, the principle states. Additionally, the committee expressed, in the accompanying commentary, a desire to develop planning processes that enhance collaboration and cooperation with the City of Evanston.

On the Chicago campus, where space is at such a premium that new buildings have to be quite large, maintaining a human scale and open spaces will be a key challenge, the report states.

The principles recognize that open space and the lakefront of both campuses are environmental assets that should be preserved and enhanced in any future building plans. “As we studied the issue of ‘sacred spaces’ and talked with representatives from four similar institutions,” said Dowding, “we began to see how outside expertise in landscape design could provide new perspectives and help us integrate rather than segregate such spaces. This is a direction I hope we will continue to explore.”

Compared to its peer institutions, Northwestern owns less land, has greater constraints on the use of its land and has less space for teaching and research, the report states. As a result, the University faces a difficult challenge: if Northwestern must grow to achieve its goal of academic excellence, how can it preserve open spaces and views without building massive new buildings that dwarf the older buildings on campus?

There are several complex approaches to address this severe space constraint. First the University could consider how it might re-occupy land and buildings on the Evanston campus that historically have been leased to other educational institutions and how that land should be used. For example, the land leased by Roycemore School located at Orrington Avenue and Lincoln Street will revert to Northwestern in 2014, and the University is assisting Roycemore in its efforts to find a relocation site. And although leases with Garrett Theological Seminary and Seabury-Western Theological Seminary for their land will not expire for more than 100 years, Northwestern might also consider starting negotiations with those institutions for use of the space they occupy.

Second, the University could consider how it might fill in a portion of the cooling pond on the Evanston campus while adhering to the principles, although the committee stopped short of endorsing a specific plan. A proposal to do that was unveiled two years ago, but drew opposition, so the project was put on hold at that time.

“The cooling pond proposal is a good example of the difficulty of space planning for Northwestern’s small campuses and the need for a transparent process for evaluating the external impact of construction,” Dowding said. “Can a small portion of the pond be filled sensitively to provide space for additional buildings? Is there a way to do this that preserves or even enhances the natural environment that we value? How should the voices of those who care be heard?

“We know that this, and other ideas that the committee considered, are sensitive issues and affect a great number of people at the University, with the other institutions and in our neighborhood,” Dowding added. “That’s why we’re circulating these draft principles and meeting with stakeholders in the coming months so people have a chance to react to the committee’s work to date.”

Another thorny issue the committee is considering is reducing pedestrian-vehicular conflict on the Evanston campus. The principle on “circulation” endorses prior recommendations by campus planners to make the Evanston campus pedestrian-oriented by reducing the density of on-campus parking, segregating pedestrian and vehicular traffic, establishing a north-south pedestrian corridor in the center of campus and creating east-west pedestrian corridors to provide better access to the lakefront.

That would mean phasing out parking in front of the Allen Center and perhaps the lot near Garrett in order to reduce the problems of cars and pedestrians jostling for space in the same area, Dowding said. Possible alternatives include building more parking structures and moving more parking to the Ryan Field lots, with increased shuttle service available, as well as provisions that ameliorate the concerns of Northwestern’s neighbors.

“We suspect that most people would agree that a pedestrian campus is a commendable goal — as long as they aren’t personally inconvenienced,” Dowding said. “People now expect to be able to park adjacent to their destination, so moving parking out of the center of campus means a fundamental change in the car culture of this campus.”

Finally, the committee is considering recommending the creation of a permanent Space Planning Committee. At this time, the group has not finalized specific recommendations for the structure, membership and procedures of the committee, but does suggest that campus space planning be conducted “in an open and comprehensible way with adequate opportunities for appropriate input from faculty, staff, students and members of the greater Northwestern community.”

In the next few months, the committee plans to meet with and elicit feedback from a variety of groups, including the General Faculty Committee, NUSAC and the student government. In addition, a meeting open to all members of the Northwestern community will be held at noon May 17 in the Northwestern Room of the Norris University Center.

The committee, which is an advisory group, ultimately will forward its report to the University administration for review, consideration and possible action.

“What the committee has done so far is a good start in examining some of these very complex issues, but now the important thing is to provide the opportunity for others to weigh in and give us their thoughts,” Dowding said.